This is the first year I’ve grown any Demon Red (Capsicum anuum) chillies. I wanted a small, compact variety that would grow well on a south facing windowsill and produce lots of edible pods. Anther key requirement was that plant had to look good in order to be ‘granted permission’ to live inside our kitchen. Demon Red turned out to be an excellent choice to be grown indoors….

The plant has been covered in tiny (1-2cm long), upright pods all summer long. It was one of the first varieties to produce pods and is still throwing out flowers and pods deep into October. Although they are small, the ripe pods pack a fair bit of heat and have a decent flavour too. One or two pods is more than enough to liven up a pasta dish. They make an idea chilli plant for a kitchen window as a hit of heat is always to hand.

With the pods being very small and thin skinned they are also ideally suited to drying. To do this I simply pick them and place them on a tray somewhere warm (like the airing cupboard) for a couple of weeks. They can be used whole or ground down into flakes or even a chilli powder. Check out our preserving chillies article for some more ideas about how to preserve your crop.

In our humble opinion here at The Chilli King, chilli jelly needs to be hot. In fact it needs to be a little bit ‘too hot’. The Trinidad Moruga Scorpian peppers that I use in this recipe are perfect for achieving this heat. Of course you can adjust the type and quantity of peppers to your taste.

Our Moruga Scorpian plant was given to us earlier in the year by our friends over at Potters Plants. If you don’t have Trinidad Scorpians then any variety will do, particularly other super hot chinense varieties such as Naga Jolokia or Butch Ts. Failing that most supermarkets or asian shops tend to stock the old hot sauce favourites Habanero or Scotch Bonnets which would work equally well in this recipe.

The following recipe makes approximately 2 x 250ml jam jars. This incredibly simple chilli recipe has only three ingredients: chillies, sugar and vinegar.

Super Hot Chilli Jelly Ingredients

• 3 x Moruga Scorpian chillies
• 500 g of jamming sugar
• 300 ml of cider vinegar

1. Add the jamming sugar and vinegar to a medium sized saucepan. Cook over a gentle heat until the sugar has dissolved. Try to avoid stirring the sugar, instead an occasional swirl of the pan will help it along.

2. Remove the stalks and blitz the chillies in a food processor while the sugar is dissolving.

3. Add the chillies and turn the heat up when all of the sugar is dissolved in the vinegar.

4, Bring the mixture to the boil and continue to cook at a rolling boil for 10 minutes.

5. Turn off the heat and wait a few minutes. Any bubbles/foam should disappear after a couple of minutes. If not skim off the top with a spoon.

6. As the jelly cools it will start to thicken. Try to jar the jelly while it is still pourable but thick enough for the chilli flecks to be suspended in the jelly rather than floating on top.

6. Once the consistency is right (typically after 5 minutes), add the jelly to sterilised jars and seal tightly.

Unlike chutney chilli jelly is ready to use as soon as it has cooled and fully set. This hot chilli jelly is ideal served with cheese and crackers, along side cold meats or in sandwiches/toasties.